Born from vocalist Jiyeon’s love for purple, PURPURA is a Korean hard rock band that brings together members with diverse musical tastes, from jazz and modern rock to ballads and metal.
Their music draws heavily from real-life experiences and emotions, turning everyday moments, relationships, and personal struggles into songs. With each member contributing their own ideas, PURPURA has developed a sound that feels both personal and energetic.
For the band, nothing compares to the thrill of performing live—seeing audiences headbang, cheer, and let loose alongside them. After performing in Mongolia and Japan, PURPURA hopes to continue bringing their music to audiences around the world.
In this City Stories interview, PURPURA talks about their beginnings, influences, creative process, overseas experiences, and their passion for simply having fun on stage.
For readers who are discovering PURPURA for the first time, how would you introduce the band? How would you describe PURPURA’s music and identity?
We are PURPURA, a hard rock band that plays with the beauty and intensity of purple. Come on, let’s all have fun together!
What does the name “PURPURA” mean, and how does its meaning connect to your music?
It’s actually very simple. Our vocalist and leader, Jiyeon, loves the color purple. “Purple” felt a little too simple, so we started thinking about what name would be better and eventually came up with “PURPURA.”
We believe purple is both powerful and beautiful, which is why we chose it to represent our hard rock music.
How was PURPURA formed? What brought the members together to create the band?
Our vocalist, Jiyeon, had been waiting for guitarist Sangmin to finish his military service because she wanted to start a band with him.
When Sangmin was discharged, he casually said, “I think I want to quit music.” Jiyeon responded with a few choice words, including, “Shut up!” [laughs]—and that’s when we decided to start the band.
Eventually, Jiyeon’s longtime friend and Sangmin’s longtime friend joined them, and that’s how PURPURA was formed.
Each member seems to have a different musical background. How do your individual personalities and experiences influence PURPURA’s music?
We’re a group of people who enjoy different genres, including jazz, modern rock, ballads, and metal. In reality, we tend to follow the hard rock that our vocalist, Jiyeon, loves the most.
Within that direction, keyboardist Minseo adds sounds that she personally enjoys, while guitarist Sangmin sometimes brings in songs influenced by the genres he wants to explore. Jiyeon is very good at listening to everyone’s ideas.
And drummer Dokyun is… just a really nice guy. [laughs]
How are PURPURA’s songs usually created? Do you start with a melody, lyrics, guitar riff, or something else?
Sometimes, guitarist Sangmin suddenly gets emotional at night, records a guitar riff, and sends it to us. If vocalist Jiyeon likes it, we arrange it into a song. If she doesn’t, we cut it. [laughs]
But we never actually delete those riffs—we always find a way to use them in another song later.
The melodies and lyrics are usually written by Jiyeon. I guess she has a lot she wants to say! [laughs]
Keyboardist Minseo is also great at post-production and mixing, while drummer Dokyun does his part by recording the drums and following along really well.
Dokyun is such a nice guy.
“Lighting” feels like a song filled with painful and complicated emotions. What inspiration or story lies behind the song?
It’s Sangmin’s story. It came from feelings of anger.
His military service lasted a year and six months, and during that time, his girlfriend started seeing another man. So, in the end, he had a girlfriend when he left, and when he came back, he didn’t anymore!
Jiyeon actually created the song while laughing about the situation. [laughs] It was basically her way of saying, “Don’t live like a fool!”
You recently released a new 2026 version of “Lighting.” Was there a particular reason you wanted to revisit the original song? What changed in the new version?
Ah! We wanted to rearrange the interlude section of “Lighting,” and it turned out much better than we expected, so we decided to release it!
“제목없음 (Untitled)” contains three tracks. How do you think the songs are connected to one another?
There are four emotions running through them: hatred, anger, pretension, and resentment.
What do you think best represents music that is uniquely “PURPURA”?
Headbanging, jumping, throwing your whole body into it, and even lying down! [laughs]
Purple seems to be closely connected to PURPURA’s identity. How do colors, imagery, fashion, and visual concepts influence the way you express your music?
Vocalist Jiyeon is at the center of it, adding little touches of purple to our fashion.
As for the imagery, I’m not really sure. [laughs] Honestly, it’s simply because Jiyeon loves purple. That’s it!
PURPURA’s music feels both intense and emotional. How do you create a balance between heaviness and delicate emotions?
One unique thing about PURPURA is that we don’t necessarily listen to a particular type of music, get inspired by it, and then create songs based on that.
Instead, many of our songs are inspired by everyday experiences—things like having a fight with a friend or getting hurt. Because we write about our actual lives, the delicate emotions we personally experience naturally become part of the music.
Are there any artists, bands, or genres that have influenced PURPURA’s musical or creative direction?
I’m not sure if we can say exactly who influenced us, but our vocalist, Jiyeon, loves bands like Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe. Guitarist Sangmin is a fan of Kurt Cobain, while keyboardist Minseo loves Korean ballad singer Jung Joon-il.
And then there’s our kind-hearted Dokyun… [laughs]
Those artists helped inspire us and made us dream.
Are there any new musical directions or styles that PURPURA would like to explore in the future?
I’ve been interested in Britpop lately, but what PURPURA really loves is simply having fun and jumping around on stage.
We’re going to keep screaming, playing, and enjoying ourselves!
PURPURA has performed at various live shows in Korea. What do you enjoy most about performing directly in front of an audience?
We feel the most fulfilled when we see the audience headbanging and when people come up to us after the show and recognize us.
Even when we go completely crazy on stage, it’s so much fun to see the audience respond with cheers and energy.
Does your experience with the same song feel different when recording in the studio compared to performing it live?
Very different. Recording is so nerve-racking!!!! [laughs]
When recording, you have to sing within certain limits and maintain a level of control. But during a live performance, there’s the atmosphere and energy of the moment, so you can let everything go and simply have fun.
After a PURPURA performance, what kind of feeling or experience do you hope the audience takes home with them?
I hope they go home thinking, “That was a great time,” and then get some good rest. [laughs]
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced while working as PURPURA? What have you learned from those experiences?
We learned that people can be more pretentious and calculating than you might expect. It made us think more deeply about how we approach people, and I think those experiences helped us become a better PURPURA.
Performing in front of an empty venue was also incredibly difficult. But without experiencing that, the PURPURA we are today probably wouldn’t exist.
What goals would you like PURPURA to achieve over the next year? Are there any new releases, collaborations, festivals, or places you would like to perform?
We have a lot of new music coming. Releasing new music is a given.
So far, we’ve performed overseas in Mongolia and Japan. We want to travel abroad more often, meet people from different countries, and jump around and have fun with them through our music.
Finally, if you could recommend one song to someone who has never listened to PURPURA before, which song would you choose? What would you hope they discover about PURPURA through it?
I would recommend “Untitled.”
I want to leave people with this message:
“Even if someone says something to you, just laugh it off. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who failed.”
Because I believe I know my own true worth better than anyone else.
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